Rock Band: Official Thread

[Shagrath]

http://i39.tinypic.com/rjr1op.jpg

Thread Map

FAQ (http://forum.dvdtalk.com/9475176-post1.html)
DLC Tiering, Videos, and Marketplace Links (http://forum.dvdtalk.com/9475177-post2.html)
DVDTalk Challenges (Currently in hiatus) (http://forum.dvdtalk.com/9475178-post3.html)

FAQ


Downloadable Content

What's this Pepsi thing I keep hearing about?

Pepsi and Rock Band are currently running a promotion together. Specially marked 20oz and 1L bottles of Pepsi products (Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Max, etc.) will have either a red or yellow cap with one of the Rock Band instrument logos on them. Under the cap is a code that can be used for a chance to win a downloadable Rock Band song of your choice from a select list. So far, pretty much every cap has been a winner.

For more info about the promotion and the place to enter your cap codes, go to www.pepsirockband.com (http://pepsirockband.com).

pinata242 has made a spreadsheet with a list of all of the songs currently available (Green for songs just added, Red for cover tracks).
pinata's spreadsheet (http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AgXkINDGQgn4cm15OEtjQlVnV0pHakhqWkExQ0x2aFE&hl=en)

When are new songs announced?

New downloadable songs are announced every Friday. The official announcement can usually be found first on the Rock Band Official Forums in the Announcements (http://www.rockband.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=5) section.

However, someone will more than likely post the information in this thread seconds after it has been announced. If you're not on the boards right when the announcement hits, the easiest place to find it will more than likely be the "Official DLC Post", which is post #2 of this thread, and it will be located near the bottom of that post.

When are new songs released?

New songs are released weekly. The three systems that support DLC release them at different times during the week.

XBOX 360 - Tuesdays at 5:00AM Eastern
Playstation 3 - Thursdays at 5:00PM Eastern
Wii - Tuesdays at ??

How come a bunch of the links in the DLC Post are dead?

The main user that I looked to when linking to the charts for guitar was Npeaen. This YouTube user was shut down by a combination of UMG (Universal) and WMG (Warner) complaints for usage of their music in his videos. I will be working on re-linking everything to working videos in the near future.

How do I redeem the 20 free songs for Rock Band 2?

The first step is going to register.rockband.com (http://register.rockband.com/) and entering the redemption code found on the back of the instruction manual, along with the rest of the information. You will then be sent an email with a code for your specified system. Input that code wherever you normally redeem codes on your system, and the download should start automatically.

Instruments and Accessories

What instruments are compatible?

Harmonix strives to maintain compatibility across all instruments (whether intended for Rock Band or Guitar Hero or otherwise). However, there are a couple of incompatibilities. According to this (http://www.joystiq.com/Instrument-Compatibility-Matrix/) matrix, there are the following incompatibilities:

Guitar Hero: World Tour drums do not work with Rock Band 1 on the Playstation 3

Guitar Hero: World Tour drums do not work with Rock Band 1 on the Wii
Guitar Hero: World Tour guitar does not work with Rock Band 1 on the Wii
Guitar Hero 3 guitar does not work with Rock Band 1 on the Wii

Lips microphones do not work with Rock Band 1 or Rock Band 2 on the XBOX 360
* Harmonix have stated that they are bringing compatibility for the Lips microphones to Rock Band 2 in an upcoming patch.

Going the other way around (using Rock Band instruments for Guitar Hero) is a little more inconsistent, and I would recommend checking the linked matrix before purchasing any instruments if you are interested in playing both games.

Which guitar is best for Rock Band?

This ultimately comes down to preference. Both guitars have their positives and negatives.

Guitar Hero guitars
* Clicky strumbar - Some people like the feel of this strumbar. It has a very distinct up and down position.
* Raised fret buttons
* The Guitar Hero: World Tour guitar also has a Select/Back button near where your palm would rest on your strumming hand. This can be used to activate overdrive instead of tilting the guitar

Rock Band guitars
* Silent strumbar - This strummer is a lot quieter than the Guitar Hero ones.
* Flush fret buttons - The fret buttons are flush with the neck of the guitar, making the guitar look and feel more like a real guitar instead of a game controller
* Solo buttons - There are a second set of frets located near the base of the neck that can be used during the "Solo" sections on guitar charts.
* The Rock Band 2 Stratocaster comes with a calibration tool (consisting of a microphone and a light-sensing camera that can be used to get a near-perfect calibration on any display device

Which drums are best for Rock Band?

It is generally agreed that the Rock Band drums work best for Rock Band and that while the Guitar Hero: World Tour ones are compatible, it is slightly unnatural playing them in RocK Band due to the configuration they pads/cymbals are in.

If you want to get heavy into the drum experience, the most realistic option is the ION Drum Rocker (https://www.drumrocker.com/products/index.php). This is a professional-grade kit four high-quality heads and two cymbals (with an option for a third).

If you don't want to spend that much on a kit, but still want a more realistic experience, there are cymbal upgrade kits (1, 2, or 3) for the official Rock Band 2 drum kit.

What other accessories are available?

Already mentioned are the optional cymbals for the officialRock Band 2 drums. There are also some other options to liven up your rocking experience The cymbals are universal, however these additional accessories are currently only available for the [b]XBOX 360.

* Stage Kit (http://www.pdp.com/stagekit_flash.php) - Have lights and (optional) fog in your living room! The cool thing about this is that every song has its own unique sequences programmed in. So it's not just a generic set of lights going off, but specific to the song.
* Fender P-Bass Replica (http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Rock-Fender-Precision-Replica/dp/B001B156BA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1243696113&sr=8-4) - A *wired* bass guitar. The build is very similar to the official Rock Band Stratocaster, with the silent strumbar and the flush fret buttons. The feature that sets this apart from other guitars is that it has a split strumbar for two fingered upstrumming like a true bass player.
*a wireless version will be available soon in the standard black/white, as well as red/white, and seafoam green/white version
* M.I.C. (http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-M-I-C-Microphone-Integrated-Controller/dp/B001B1AL88/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1243696389&sr=1-1) - A premium wired microphone with a built-in XBOX 360 controller, so that the vocalist doesn't have to have an additional device tethered to them for picking songs and difficulties.

Gameplay

What are gold stars, and how do I get them?

Gold stars (GS) are attainable only on Expert difficulty. The general guideline for the GS cutoff is 1.52x the 5-star cut-off on Expert.

If I play Endless Setlist on Expert, and my friend is playing on Medium, will I still get Platinum Artist?

The short answer is no. You are only awarded Platinum Artist if everyone in your band is playing on the Expert level. If someone is playing on Medium, then you will only be awarded Vinyl Artist.

How come they don't log how many stars I got in quickplay?

Your guess is as good as mine as to why this was taken out in the transition to Rock Band 2. It will be added back in with the next patch, but it is doubtful that the stars will be assigned retroactively. This means you'll probably have to play through everything again to get the stars to show up.

What's the fastest way to unlock all of the on-disc songs in Rock Band 2?

The fastest way to unlock songs is through the "Tour Challenges". Start with any of the instrument-specific challenges in the Warmup section. By doing one of those, it should unlock one of the "Decades" challenges. Doing each of the "Decades" Challenges will unlock the one for the next decade. Continue doing these until you have unlocked the last one (don't even have to play it). This will unlock every song on the disc, and you will have only played 21 songs, with very little duplication.


Challenges

What is this Challenges thing all about?

A couple of months ago, I came up with the idea of setting up some "Battle of the Bands" style challenges for the users. A different challenge was sent out each week with different songs and criteria to be met. These were not meant to be a competition, but a way for the regulars (and lurkers) to play the game in a way that they may not have tried, and for us to play together during the week, although not in the truest sense of the word.

Why are they on hiatus?

I'm trying to come up with a way to make the challenges better. Several users have given me feedback and said that longer than a week would give more time. I've also toyed around with the idea of prizes. They will come back at some point, and this thread, obviously, will be the first place to find out about it.

[Shagrath]

Official DLC Post

New format!

The Guitar and Drum links take you to the youtube vids, as per usual.
Clicking the song title will take you straight to the XBOX Marketplace for easy purchasing!

This Week's DLC
<iframe src="http://www.game-programmer.net/RockBand/CurrentWeekSongs.html" scrolling="yes" frameborder="1" height="500" width="100%"></iframe>

Currently Available DLC

Albums (All Released Albums by Artist/Title)

<iframe src="http://www.game-programmer.net/RockBand/Albums.html" scrolling="yes" frameborder="1" height="600" width="100%"></iframe>

Packs (All Released Packs by Name)

<iframe src="http://www.game-programmer.net/RockBand/Packs.html" scrolling="yes" frameborder="1" height="600" width="100%"></iframe>

Archive (All Released Songs by Artist/Title)

<iframe src="http://www.game-programmer.net/RockBand/ArchiveSongs.html" scrolling="yes" frameborder="1" height="600" width="100%"></iframe>


Announced DLC (by Date)

<iframe src="http://www.game-programmer.net/RockBand/AnnouncedSongs.html" scrolling="yes" frameborder="1" height="600" width="100%"></iframe>


Totals

<iframe src="http://www.game-programmer.net/RockBand/Totals.html" scrolling="yes" frameborder="1" height="400" width="100%"></iframe>

[Shagrath]

DVDTalk Rock Band Challenges

*Currently on hiatus

[Shagrath]

To go along with the REO/Styx Tour pack, and the Bonoroo Pack this week, there's a couple of other tours that Rock Band is sponsoring this summer.

Warped Tour - They have already confirmed (http://www.rockband.com/events) that we will be seeing at least one pack from artists on this tour.

Warped Tour Artist List

3OH!3
A Day to Remember
A Love Like Pi
A Rocket to the Moon
A Skylit Drive
A Verse Unsung
Adolescents
After Midnight Project
Aiden
Alamance
Alana Grace
Alexisonfire
Alister M
All Time Low
Amely
Amplify This
Anarbor
Another Option
Anti-Flag
Attack Attack
Authority Zero
Bad Religion
Bayside
Big D and the Kids Table
Black Box
Black Saints Cartel
Black Tide
Born to Lose
Bouncing Souls
Breathe Caroline
Breathe Electric
Broadway Calls
brokeNCYDE
Buckeye
Call Me Doctor
Cash Cash
Channel 3
Cheap Girls
Chelsea Automatic
Chiodos
Choke Chain
Chrysalis
Civet
Comic Book Heros
Conditions
Dance Gavin Dance
Dear and the Headlights
Death Punch
Detox Retox
DI
Dirty Heads
Disalto
DOA
Don't Panic
Down with Webster
Dr. Madd Vibe Experiment
Dreams of University
Duane Peters Gunfight
Early States
Echo Movement
Emmure
Escape the Fate
Every Avenue
Fake Problems
Falling into Place
FEAR
Fishbone
Flipper
Flogging Molly
Forever the Sickest Kids
Foundation
Gallows
Gator Face
Guttermouth
HDR
He Is Legend
Hello Beautiful
Hit the Lights
Honey Claws
HTM
I Set My Friends on Fire
ice nine kills
In This Moment
InnerPartySystem
Instrument
Inward Eye
Ionia
Ivoryline
Ivy League
Jeffree Star
Jet Lag Gemini
Kelsey and The Chaos
La Guerrilla
Landminds
Left Alone
Less Than Jake
Letters Make Words
LIGHTS
Longway
LoveHateHero
Madina Lake
Meg and Dia
Mercy Mercedes
Middle Finger Salute
Millionaires
Missles and Markers
Monty Are I
My Cardboard Space Adventure
NeverShoutNever
NOFX
Nothing More
Nylon Pink
Ocean Is Theory
Orance
OUTERNATIONAL
P.O.S.
Passenger Action Rock
Peachcake
PHATHOM
Play the Angel
Pull the Pin
Punk Rock Karaoke
RAE
Red Car Wire
Reflective Insight
Roslyn
Runner Runner
Saosin
Sarah's Redemption
Saving Glory
Say Vandelay
Say When
Scary Kids Scaring Kids
Senses Fail
Set Phasers to Stun
Settings
Shad
Shooter Jennings
Silverstein
Sing It Loud
Single File
Status Green
Staylefish
Streetlight Manifesto
Superman Is Dead
Switchblade Killers
TAT
Tess Dunn
The A.K.A.s
The Adicts
The Achitects
The Ataris
The Atlantic Sky
The Blackout
The Designer Drugs
The Devil Wears Parada
The Dickies
The Exploited
The Flatliners
The Good Times
The Heroine
The Lives of Famous Men
The Lusitania
The Maine
The Ocean Buried
The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
The Royalty
The Scenic
The Set
The Silent Years
The Skuids
The Status
The Truth
The White Tie Affair
Thelonius Monster
There for Tomorrow
Therefore I Am
These Green Eyes
This Providence
Thrice
To Speak of Wolves
Tolidos
Total Chaos
TSOL
Turpentine Brothers
TV/TV
UK Subs
Ultimate Power Duo
Underoath
Valencia
Vamps
VersaEmerge
Virgin Pancakes
Walk Off the Earth
We Are the Union
We The Kings
Westbound Train
VB
You Me at Six
You Me Everyone We Know
Yussef Black


Mayhem Festival - Rock Band is also sponsoring this tour, but have not confirmed that they will be releasing any songs to coincide with it. It'd be kind of silly not to.

Mayhem Festival Artist List

Slayer
Marilyn Manson
Killswitch Engage
Bullet for My Valentine
Cannibal Corpse
Trivium
Job for a Cowboy
God Forbid
Behemoth
All That Remains
The Black Dahlia Murder
White Chapel
Mushroomhead


There's a couple bands I'd already interested in out of the Warped Tour's gigantic list. Although admittedly, I've only even heard of a fraction of those bands. However, I can almost assuredly say I'm down for whatever they release from Mayhem Fest. I listen to/have heard most of those bands and would enjoy seeing any of them in game.

[Michael Corvin]

:lol: I think I've only heard of two of the Warped bands. The Ataris and P.O.D. I've heard of more out of the Mayhem list but am unfamiliar with the actual music.

[Shagrath]

:lol: I think I've only heard of two of the Warped bands. The Ataris and P.O.D. I've heard of more out of the Mayhem list but am unfamiliar with the actual music.

But P.O.D. is not on the list.. It's P.O.S., which is that hip-hop act that someone mentioned on here in the last thread, I believe.

[Suprmallet]

I didn't notice they had released two Zombies songs. I will pick those up.

But what I'm really waiting for is MAIDEN!

[Michael Corvin]

But P.O.D. is not on the list.. It's P.O.S., which is that hip-hop act that someone mentioned on here in the last thread, I believe.

You're right. I misread. However I did enjoy that P.O.S. Vid that
Superfro posted a while back.

[pinata242]

Where else are you going to go from The Zombies to Ben Harper and Phish to Iron Maiden in the span of 2 weeks?

Rock Band is kicking the ever-loving shit out of the rhythm game concept with this single-platform concept. I sure hope that Lego RB doesn't break that concept and allows me to import back into RB2 (not as interested in RB2->Lego). Beatles would be awesome as well, but I'm not holding my breath on it and will be able to look past the seclusion.

[dtcarson]

Yeah, I think if they advance via new disk releases, without allowing importability at least to the "core" game of RB2, they will lose a lot of fans and momentum.

I don't think I have much interest in Lego Rock Band..I still don't even know what the point is...Rock Band with Lego characters instead of the more "lifelike" characters? BFD. Has a set list been announced? Will it be full of "family friendly" songs to go with the Lego brand? I'll admit I don't play some songs around certain people, but most of the setlist on RB2 and many of the downloads are suitable for most people. My six year old was singing Poison the other day. (At least it wasn't Police Truck, although I did first aim him toward School's Out.)
I know they have said "Rock Band is a platform", but with Lego, Beatles, and rumors of an RB3, they're sort of waffling on that. I think every upcoming disk should be fully backward compatible with all existing DLC, and should be exportable to the main RB2 interface.

[Shagrath]

I feel all this talk about *not* exporting is a bunch of FUD.

Harmonix know what they're doing. They've stated many times that Rock Band is to be seen as a platform. I have absolutely no doubt that with the release of LEGO Rock Band, there will be an export option. I don't know if that's to LEGO or from LEGO. I have a feeling it's the latter (LEGO -> RB2), seeing as LEGO is not the "main" franchise game.

In honesty, I'd be surprised if the Beatles stuff doesn't integrate into the main platform. I know that they're fairly exclusive with how they want their music to be played/viewed, but Harmonix wants their game to be seen as a platform as well. There has probably been some butting of heads over this between the two camps. I'm guessing we'll probably hear some more concrete information this week during E3. I can see an "Export to RB2" option being available at an additional price. Most people wouldn't take it, as they already bought the songs, but some who want everything from one disc would. That'd be more money for The Beatles, and a lesser number of people playing "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" with Mothership Q or Buzzsaw.

[pinata242]

The Beatles don't need to butt heads with anyone. They get their own way. If they allow it, that'd be great. But I don't think there was a back-and-forth with Sir Paul and Ringo over it via a Tuesday morning conference call or an email chain.

[shaane]

I want to throw this out there...after getting a look at the rumored artist list (I'd provide a link, but I don't have enough posts for that...) for Guitar Hero 5, I'm concerned that Harmonix might be making the Rock Band platform a bit outdated by not "counter programming." Lego and The Beatles don't really count, in my opinion.

So I ask, do you guys think they have something planned for E3? If it's not Rock Band 3 (which I don't think will be announced, personally) what about a track pack or a major announcement in terms of DLC? Or do they just wait it out and aim for 2010?

I think they need make some sort of move to keep pace with Activision. I hope a surprise track pack with some major artists is in the pipeline.

Anyone else have any feelings on this?

[WMAangel]

They have already stated that The Beatles RB game will not be exportable, and I don't think that will change no matter what....I mean, if any band deserves the standalone treatment, it is THE BEATLES.......they seem like they want their own game to be specific just to them and more "special" than the standard RB/RB2 interface & presentation.....after all, they are going out of the way to make specific replica guitars and what not just for this title, which is a lot more than just a Aerosmith face-plate (or nothing at all like Metallica got).....

While I generally hate the disc-swapping of the GH series (and is just one of the reasons why the RB platform is superior IMO), I think I can look past it this time for the one band considered perhaps "the greatest of all time" by many....

[Shagrath]

I want to throw this out there...after getting a look at the rumored artist list (I'd provide a link, but I don't have enough posts for that...) for Guitar Hero 5, I'm concerned that Harmonix might be making the Rock Band platform a bit outdated by not "counter programming." Lego and The Beatles don't really count, in my opinion.

So I ask, do you guys think they have something planned for E3? If it's not Rock Band 3 (which I don't think will be announced, personally) what about a track pack or a major announcement in terms of DLC? Or do they just wait it out and aim for 2010?

I think they need make some sort of move to keep pace with Activision. I hope a surprise track pack with some major artists is in the pipeline.

Anyone else have any feelings on this?

First I'd like to say welcome to the boards. It's always nice to have a new rocker to add to the conversation.

I don't think that Harmonix need to release a bunch of disc-based titles to "keep up" with Activision. People on the internet seem to frown upon Activions/Neversoft for releasing so many titles and "milking" the franchise. Sure, it gets them retail space, and their product is right in front of the eyes of soccer moms. However, with a new title being released every two months, it can lead to them cannibalizing their own sales. People have seen how fast Aerosmith dropped in price, and Metallica is doing the same thing. Your shopping-savvy consumer is going to wait it out on Smash Hits and any other titles that come out, knowing they'll drop in price sooner rather than later.

With Rock Band, it's all about the DLC for the time being. They're pulling out major artists left and right, and giving them more than just one song (as you'd see on a disc-based title). Granted, not everyone is online with their next-gen consoles (a travesty in my eyes), but it's obviously working for them enough to turn a profit on this stuff and keep releasing new songs every week for over a year and a half.

[dtcarson]

And there have been a couple of disk-based DLC collections.

I can see the Beatles as a standalone disk. They're definitely important enough to music to have their own disk and be the main name on their game. (Although I do have some concerns as to how well this release will be received, and would like to be pleasantly surprised.)

I definitely think that DLC can be a better and more profitable way to go than disk-based iterations.

GH is in danger of watering down the brand with all its releases. One of the best things the two franchises did, however, is allow instrument compatibility (of course at this point I think it would have been foolish not to.)

I hope talk of non-exporting (except for the possible exception of Beatles) *is* FUD. Beatles is big enough to stand on its own, but it would definitely support the "platform" concept if it was exportable. It seems like band-specific, standalone titles don't sell allt that well, do they? GH: A and RB: AC/DC's sales were disappointing, but I haven't looked into GH:Metallica's.

[Michael Corvin]

I don't think that Harmonix need to release a bunch of disc-based titles to "keep up" with Activision. People on the internet seem to frown upon Activions/Neversoft for releasing so many titles and "milking" the franchise. Sure, it gets them retail space, and their product is right in front of the eyes of soccer moms. However, with a new title being released every two months, it can lead to them cannibalizing their own sales.

Sorry but us 'internet folk' don't count for shit. Guitar Hero is a multi-BILLION dollar franchise while Rock Band is expected to lose a half billion this year. Activision is obviously doing something right no matter how you choose to look at it.

If anything this proves that the vast majority of consumers aren't giving up retail packaging anytime soon in favor of a disc-less world.

[brianluvdvd]

I really like having the two Zombies' releases.

I wish they would dig into the 60's a little more often.

[Mazje]

Hadn't heard about RB losing half a billion this year...should we take that as a sign to enjoy RB while we've got it then? Will there even be a RB3?

[PerryD]

If Rock Band is going to keep allowing me to import music from one game to the next, they need to allow me to delete individual songs. I have the PS3 version, and I'd love to streamline the song lists down to a manageable number, remove the free 20 songs that came with RB2 and cut out some of the songs from RB1 that don't interest me.

[dtcarson]

The funny thing is, normally I am a big fan of hard copy disks and retail packaging, I do not want the entire industry to go digital-download. I'm even holding off on the Fallout DLC because I'm debating waiting for the inevitable complete GOTY edition (I waited on Mass Effect, and that PE came with the DLC). (It's funny, I was listening to a podcast last week where they were musing as to why MS doesn't have sales all that often....because if you control the entire market, you don't *have* to have sales or price drops.)
But a song here or there for 160 or 440 points for a pack, or better yet, 80 point sales, are a lot easier to 'impulse buy'. (Same thing with an XBLA game that costs 5-10 bucks; resale value on most retail games older than 3 months is around that much so I'm not losing much if any.)

I would like to delete individual songs or at least lower the chances of them appearing in random setlists, that would be a good feature. Can't you go into the Hard Drive section of System Settings and delete songs? You might have to delete the entire 20 song pack, and I don't know if you can delete individual songs from RB1 export....or how hard it is to get them back.

If those dollar figures are correct, I'm interested in knowing how it breaks down. Was it the licensing fees for Beatles? Was it Guitar Hero living on royalties for GH 1, GH2, GH 80s, and the other versions, whereas RB has only had 2 main titles, 1 band back, and 1 or 2 disk add-ons? Equipment replacement costs?
Is it simply that GH has the mindshare, and the "average Joe" doesn't care about the inner workings of the companies, they simply see "Guitar Hero" and think "Hey, I loved GH2 onPS2, let's get this game"?

I will say that it seems to me, except for a few notable exceptions, though RB DLC greatly beats GH in quantity, RB is getting more of the 'bigger' more popular names. I know, Pearl Jam, RHCP, Alice Cooper, Iron Maiden; vs Metallica, Aerosmith, and some other GH DLC. RB has lots of 'indie' stuff, in which the 'big names' might be hard to see (I'll admit, however, my personal lack of familiarity with lots of the indie stuff could be coloring this perspective).

[Mad Dawg]

Hadn't heard about RB losing half a billion this year...should we take that as a sign to enjoy RB while we've got it then? Will there even be a RB3?

It's been reported a couple of different ways, but it's more likely that EA expects Rock Band to be down $400M in sales year over year, not not that it will actually lose $400M. Not good either way, but it makes more sense.

[dtcarson]

That could simply be people who bought RB1 and instruments, buying RB2 disk-only, couldn't it? Still, fewer dollars in their accounts, which is not good, but not as earthshattering as "losing half a billion".
If that includes a slowdown of DLC purchasing, ok, that's not good.

[Mad Dawg]

Well, it could be due to a lot of things. But music game sales are supposedly down by a great deal overall. The difference is that GH can "afford" to lose year over year. But the hit GH has taken has to be somewhat sizable as well, since there were reports that they actually lost a good deal of marketshare to RB (but still had a pretty commanding lead) last year. So if RB gained ground on GH while by most accounts selling below forecast, that's not great news for Activision, either.

[porieux]

IRON FUCKING MAIDEN!!!! Woooot!

[Kijdhefgi]

Mayhem Festival has The Black Dahlia Murder and that gets a giant thumbs-up from me! Gotta learn some Tibetan throat singing abilities to do two voices at once

[Shagrath]

DLC Post has been updated with the Bonnaroo Pack vids.

[Shagrath]

Looks like the new Pearl Jam album may be making its way to Rock Band (or Guitar Hero).

http://www.nme.com/news/pearl-jam/45029

According to Billboard, the album, which is rumoured to be called ‘Backspacer’, will be released through numerous individual avenues including “an online retailer, a mobile partner, a gaming company and with a network or possibly networks of indie retail stores”.

I doubt they'd put a full album on RB:PJ, so it would presumably be released as DLC.

[Decker]

Video preview of the (completely awesome) Rock Band "booth" at E3:
<object width="400" height="225"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4958411&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;ful lscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4958411&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;ful lscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="225"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/4958411">HMX Community on the Road: E3 Booth Walkthru</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/harmonix">Harmonix</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

[Shagrath]

Nice find, Decker!

[Michael Corvin]

DLC Post has been updated with the Bonnaroo Pack vids.

Thanks. Coheed looks great and I already queued it up. :up:

[DaveWadding]

Only one week til Maiden.

[dvdsteve2000]

Looks like the new Pearl Jam album may be making its way to Rock Band (or Guitar Hero).
I doubt they'd put a full album on RB:PJ, so it would presumably be released as DLC.

While I'm not a huge Pearl Jam fan, I do listen to them here and there, but I must say the new song that they sang on Conan last night was horrible. It sounded like a trainwreck, like someone was 'off' or something. If the whole album is on par with that song, I'll be passing on that one.

[WMAangel]

While I'm not a huge Pearl Jam fan, I do listen to them here and there, but I must say the new song that they sang on Conan last night was horrible. It sounded like a trainwreck, like someone was 'off' or something. If the whole album is on par with that song, I'll be passing on that one.

The sound mix was terrible, that was what was 'off'.....

[Suprmallet]

How did I miss the Black Friday and Radio Radio DLC?

[porieux]

I personally am eagerly awaiting an announcement at E3 of an RB2 update to come ASAP. I feel it has to be coming, especially if The Beatles game is not compatible with the RB2 DLC platform, which it sounds like it's not.

It's in their best interest to update the DLC platform just like they did when they added the Music Store. Does HMX have any announcements scheduled?

BTW Wilson is fun as hell.

[Michael Corvin]

There's supposed to be some kind of update this summer. I haven't seen anything more detailed mentioned.

[Shagrath]

I'd have to think that this week would probably make the most sense to at least announce the release date for the patch. There's not going to be any other time during the summer that all the press will be in one place and they can show it off, or just make the announcement that it's going live this week.

I've been sticking to Tour Challenges lately and have the majority of them complete (yes, even the Infinite ones). When the patch hits, I'll probably start replaying everything in quickplay to log those stars.

[porieux]

I'm assuming (hoping) this is a good time for details.

I would think they would want to get it out as soon as possible way before The Beatles game comes out.

They could even surprise us and say 'available by the end of the week'.

EDIT: I see Shagrath and I are thinking the same thing. Make it so!

[Michael Corvin]

Except that patch talk/press takes away from Beatles talk/press.

[porieux]

Yeah I think they will wait until tomorrow. That way the press can keep focusing on The Beatles for now.

[pinata242]

Nobody in the press really gives a fuck about the patch anyway. They'll release it without much notice, if any, as always.

[Michael Corvin]

I just hopped on to play some new Coheed and was prompted for an update. Yea! Surprise update!

No stars. :sad: Not sure what it was for.

[Shagrath]

I just hopped on to play some new Coheed and was prompted for an update. Yea! Surprise update!

No stars. :sad: Not sure what it was for.

Are you sure you didn't clear your cache recently? I just loaded it up and didn't get prompted for an update.

[Michael Corvin]

I haven't played in about two weeks. Maybe it was an older update. I haven't done anything with the cache.

[Shagrath]

A couple little updates from E3.

First off, Foo Fighters - Breakout has been confirmed for LEGO Rock Band. Also, the notes are bricks! YES!
http://e3.gamespot.com/story/6211075/lego-rock-band-hands-on

Also, another track pack has been seen for RB2. Metal Track Pack!!

This video is a history of RB, and where the Metal Track Pack is seen, as well as some Beatles stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GenaWORypRw

[Michael Corvin]

Metal Track Pack for 2009? That's new.

So in 2009 alone we have:
Classic Rock Track Pack
Country Track Pack
Metal Track Pack
Lego Rock Band
The Beatles: Rock Band
Rock Band Unplugged

Almost gives Guitar Hero a run for their money.

[Shagrath]

Metal Track Pack for 2009? That's new.

So in 2009 alone we have:
Classic Rock Track Pack
Country Track Pack
Metal Track Pack
Lego Rock Band
The Beatles: Rock Band
Rock Band Unplugged

Almost gives Guitar Hero a run for their money.

I don't view track packs as being a stand-alone title like Band Hero or Guitar Hero: Van Halen. I know some people do, but I see it as an expansion, much like Operation: Anchorage for Fallout 3.

Sure, it is playable as a stand-alone title, and has its own additional achievements. However, it's only 250 points (same as an expansion). Also, the content can fully be integrated back into the main RB platform, unlike things like GH:Metallica (we've yet to see if any future GH products will allow for exporting). Also, the price point is half of a normal retail game.

I see Harmonix's 2009 as:

Rock Band: Unplugged
The Beatles: Rock Band
LEGO Rock Band

To each their own though.

[pinata242]

Still waiting for my 90's Alternative Track Pack with 8-10 unreleased songs. Still missing Live, Green Day, Bush, and Sponge (to name a few).

[Michael Corvin]

Still waiting for my 90's Alternative Track Pack with 8-10 unreleased songs. Still missing Live, Green Day, Bush, and Sponge (to name a few).

Cake, Candlebox, Gin Blossoms, Collective Soul, Soul Asylum & Silverchair to name a few more.

[pinata242]

Exactly. I just stalled it's early :)

[pinata242]

Got my double-cymbal expansion just now. What colors make the most sense for these to be mapped to?

[Michael Corvin]

I do green/yellow and swap the green for blue in GH.

[Liver&Onions]

Got my double-cymbal expansion just now. What colors make the most sense for these to be mapped to?

green for sure, then i did yellow but blue might have been a good choice too.

[Copper Blue]

Got my double-cymbal expansion just now. What colors make the most sense for these to be mapped to?

Hi hat and ride are used the most (yellow and blue), but crash is the most fun to hit (green). Get a third. You won’t regret it.

[pinata242]

I will probably get a third eventually. Was just too good a deal to pass up for $13 last week for these two.

Since I'm not a drummer, I figured green was most obvious for OD triggering. Sounds like you've been overruled right now, Copper :(

Thanks for the advice, guys. If anyone else wants to chime in (or let me know where I can get a 3rd for cheap), feel free!

[Michael Corvin]

Green is a must. It's too fun to hit the crash.

[Liver&Onions]

It's so fun I think I might map both to green.

[Suprmallet]

I have the cymbal expansion and it seems I can never tighten them enough, because the symbols always slide down until they're touching the drum pads. Anyone have a fix for this?

Edit: I should mention they'll stay up until you actually tap them with the drumstick.

[Michael Corvin]

Nope. I have the same problem. Very annoying.

[Suprmallet]

I guess I could put duct tape at the bottom of the clamps to close the hole so the cymbals can't slide down further.

[Ghym]

Are you saying just the pole with the cymbol slides down, or the whole thing, including the arm that connects it to the drumset slides down? If it's just the cymbol sliding, make sure that the arm is snapped together tight at both endds. It should snap, then you use the screws.

My problem was the whole thing sliding, then I realized I had the arm connected to the drumkit, upside down.

[Suprmallet]

Just the pole, but I have the clamp snapped shut.

[Adam Tyner]

My problem was the whole thing sliding, then I realized I had the arm connected to the drumkit, upside down.Ha. I'll have to double-check to see if that's what I'm doing. That whole cymbal rig slogs down for me.

[Ghym]

Ha. I'll have to double-check to see if that's what I'm doing. That whole cymbal rig slogs down for me.

Yeah, there's a notch on the drumkit, and a groove in the arm/clamp for the cymbals. I put it on wrong at first, so it wasn't going over the notch. I took it apart and noticed the groove. No more slipping. Guess I should pay more attention to the instructions next time. ;)

I found a picture that kind of shows it.
http://www.fakeplasticrock.com/wp-content/uploads/rock-band-cymbal-instructions-3.png

[jdpatri]

AHAH!!! A groove!

I feel like such an idiot. Those cymbals have slid down the base probably a dozen times while I was playing and I never noticed the groove.

[pinata242]

Well, it looks like my receiving this kit has helped a lot of people today :lol:

[Michael Corvin]

:lol:

I'll have to check mine out later.

[The Bus]

Got TV on the Radio's "Wolf Like Me" today.

I've been away so long that I'm just now downloading the songs from the back of my booklet. :lol:

[Shagrath]

Bad news about RB2 Patch
:( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(

Someone on the SA forums went to the Harmonix booth today and asked about the patch. This is what they were told:

The RB2 patch is still being worked on, and it might not even come out this summer.

:( :( :( :( :( :(

[porieux]

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Hopefully they are just being coy.

Nobody in the press really gives a fuck about the patch anyway. They'll release it without much notice, if any, as always.

That is highly dependent on what is actually in the patch, and which segment of the press you are referring to..

[porieux]

I have the cymbal expansion and it seems I can never tighten them enough, because the symbols always slide down until they're touching the drum pads. Anyone have a fix for this?

Edit: I should mention they'll stay up until you actually tap them with the drumstick.

I don't have that problem with the cymbals but I do have that problem with the drumkit itself. Anyone got any advice there? I'm a tall guy and I can never have the kit raised up, kind of sucks.

[shaane]

Well, I just watched the live presentation of Lego Rock Band over at Gamespot (I'm assuming it's archived and you all can take a look.)

Overall, it's not all that different from the main Rock Band property. Sounds, interface, fonts...almost all the same. Obviously, the Lego theme is there, but you aren't going to get a brand new game.

The host asked one question: DLC...will there be any? The Harmonix folks declined to talk about that issue. I would venture a guess that they won't spill the beans on whether we'll get song transfer at E3, either.

The video does feature songs by Pink and Foo Fighters. And the Harmonix people mention "The Final Countdown." But nothing else new.

After seeing the game, I get the feeling that the Lego songs certainly could be moved into the Rock Band world. But my guess is that Rock Band songs won't be playable in the Lego world. Family-friendly and all. That seems to be the biggest theme of the new game.

[pinata242]

Hung with some cats from Doublefine last night. Maybe the coolest company ever. So happy for Brutal Legend. Congrats!

-pray- So hoping for a nice cross-promotion in "Rocktober".

[Mad Dawg]

-pray- So hoping for a nice cross-promotion in "Rocktober".

I saw Alex Navarro tweeted that Activision waited until today to sue EA over it. A cross-promotion would be awesome, but I'm just hoping nothing happens with the release.

ETA: Or I could just read the other thread.

[pinata242]

Yeah, I posted about that in the BL thread itself. Shitty move. Sour grapes.

[brianluvdvd]

I got back into Rock Band recently and there are some things that are just bugging the shit out of me.

The World Tour: It sucks. It is way too long and way too repetitive. I like the way they integrate your DLC into the tour but it is just TOO DAMN LONG. If I have to play or sing "We Got The Beat" one more time, I believe I might kill someone. GH:WT got it right in this aspect. Get in, get out, play the songs. Done.

The Vocals. Do they really have to chart every Oooo and Ahhh sung by the original singer. You are doing great on a song and then out of nowhere they want you to strictly adhere to Eddie Vedder's wail that you can barely even hear on the damn cd. Why not make shit like that freestyle? Granted I am doing the vocal tour on Expert so they are more strict but this sort of stuff should not be charted.

The Background Singing: Please tell me there is a way to turn this off because I can't find it. Some of the people sing so loud and obnoxious in the background that they even drown out the real singer. I hate that shit when I go to a real concert and I hate that shit on the game. I didn't go to a concert to hear how the local douchebag thinks he can sing just like Billy Corgan and I didn't play this game to hear Harmonix's background singers sing it either. Ugh.

I am sure there is more stuff but those are the major items chapping my ass right now. Thank you.

[Michael Corvin]

The World Tour: It sucks. It is way too long and way too repetitive. I like the way they integrate your DLC into the tour but it is just TOO DAMN LONG. If I have to play or sing "We Got The Beat" one more time, I believe I might kill someone. GH:WT got it right in this aspect. Get in, get out, play the songs. Done.

Skip around cities and countries. If you play multiple gigs in the same place you are going to play the same songs.


The Vocals. Do they really have to chart every Oooo and Ahhh sung by the original singer.

Pretty minor, but I do agree. The 'talky' intro to Ballroom Blitz comes to mind. At least that one is damn funny to hear in a party atmosphere.


The Background Singing: Please tell me there is a way to turn this off because I can't find it. Some of the people sing so loud and obnoxious in the background that they even drown out the real singer. I hate that shit when I go to a real concert and I hate that shit on the game. I didn't go to a concert to hear how the local douchebag thinks he can sing just like Billy Corgan and I didn't play this game to hear Harmonix's background singers sing it either. Ugh.


I love this aspect of the game. I enjoy the clapping along with the beat as well. It's not in every song and it's only when you are on a streak so it's very infrequent. You're supposed to be in a live atmosphere anyway and the singing/clapping along just adds to that.

[Shagrath]

The Vocals. Do they really have to chart every Oooo and Ahhh sung by the original singer. You are doing great on a song and then out of nowhere they want you to strictly adhere to Eddie Vedder's wail that you can barely even hear on the damn cd. Why not make shit like that freestyle? Granted I am doing the vocal tour on Expert so they are more strict but this sort of stuff should not be charted.


Freestyle sections (like those in GH:WT) are fucking horrible. Doing vocalizations are some of my favorite parts on vocals. I want to sing everything that the lead vocalist sang on the track.

[brianluvdvd]

Skip around cities and countries. If you play multiple gigs in the same place you are going to play the same songs.

I love this aspect of the game. I enjoy the clapping along with the beat as well. It's not in every song and it's only when you are on a streak so it's very infrequent. You're supposed to be in a live atmosphere anyway and the singing/clapping along just adds to that.

Then why the fuck am I playing "we got the beat" in every city be it Chicago or London?

And even on the mystery songs, they repeat quite often. Fucking Bon Jovi all the time or one certain Police song. They need to fix the randomizer.

And that's great you like it but they could at least give you the option to turn it down or off. I don't mind the clapping and crowd noise but when one or two people in the crowd are standing out above the lead singer's vocals...that's a little too much.

Freestyle sections (like those in GH:WT) are fucking horrible. Doing vocalizations are some of my favorite parts on vocals. I want to sing everything that the lead vocalist sang on the track.

I do as well...words that is. I just don't want to be penalized when the singer comes out of nowhere with a Wattttaaaaerrrrrtttyyyaaaaaeeee!!!! and you have to go up and down and all around and then it fucks up your points.

But you are Mr. Superman Rock Band so I would not expect you to understand. I see your scores on my leader boards for every instrument...and I weep.

[Suprmallet]

I absolutely loathed the way the gigs were set up in GH:WT. Pre-set setlists are so Guitar Hero II.

[UncleGramps]

I absolutely loathed the way the gigs were set up in GH:WT. Pre-set setlists are so Guitar Hero II.
I agree. I guess it comes down to personal preference, but GH:WT's tour mode presentation seemed like just a bunch of songs thrown together. RB's tour mode gives you some sense of traveling around the world and playing sets and making some sort of progression. There's still plenty of room for improvement, but GH:WT's approach felt very lazy and uninspired to me.

[Artman]

The World Tour: It sucks. It is way too long and way too repetitive. I like the way they integrate your DLC into the tour but it is just TOO DAMN LONG.

Agreed... I actually never even finished (didn't care for the remaining songs anyways) I hope with RB3 they will at least offer a non-tour mode, just give me the list of songs to play thru please.

[Suprmallet]

RB2 has a non tour mode, it's the band challenges. It's pre-made setlists that revolve around different themes. Just like in World Tour mode, you get fans and money for each set you play.

[Artman]

RB2 has a non tour mode, it's the band challenges. It's pre-made setlists that revolve around different themes. Just like in World Tour mode, you get fans and money for each set you play.

Are they just the new songs and are they available in quickplay after you finish them?

[Suprmallet]

I'm not sure if they are available in quickplay after you finish them, because I played through WT mode first.

The sets contain all the on-disc songs from RB2, but if you download other content new optional sets will pop up that incorporate them. You don't have to play the DLC sets in order to advance.

[Mad Dawg]

Are they just the new songs and are they available in quickplay after you finish them?

Tour Challenges unlock new songs faster than going through World Tour. And the challenges themselves are incorporate on-disc and DLC. They aren't just the currently unavailable songs, but you won't have as much repetition to get new songs unlocked.

And, yeah, once they're unlocked, you can play them in Quick Play.

[porieux]

Then why the fuck am I playing "we got the beat" in every city be it Chicago or London?




Sounds like you need to unlock the songs. Don't do it in World Tour mode it will take forever. Play the 'Marathon Challenges' to unlock them all the most efficiently.

[Copper Blue]

I think the fastest way to unlock all songs is to play the decades challenges. I think you play 5 sets of about 4 songs each, and all 84 songs get unlocked.

[Michael Corvin]

So is it just Maiden next week or should we be expecting an announcement today?

[Shagrath]

So is it just Maiden next week or should we be expecting an announcement today?
We'll know in an hour or so.

If I had to wager a bet, I'd say that there's not going to be anything else coming next week. They haven't announced the Iron Maiden stuff on their forums yet, so I'm pretty sure that's all it will be. Twelve tracks from one of the best metal bands in the world ain't good enough for ya? ;)

[brianluvdvd]

Sounds like you need to unlock the songs. Don't do it in World Tour mode it will take forever. Play the 'Marathon Challenges' to unlock them all the most efficiently.


That's the weird thing. I think I have unlocked most of all the songs. And I have a shit-ton of DLC and the old Rock Band 1 songs. I wish they pulled from your DLC more often and kept a count of how many times you played a song so you wouldn't repeat until you have played everything.

I just started in one city, did the sets, went to the next city, did the sets, etc. instead of jumping around to every country. I expected some repetition in the beginning of course but now that I have only a few European countries left, I was expecting less. I just would like a shorter tour. A nice middle ground between the current system and the GH:WT would be fine.

[pinata242]

You don't need to "complete" World Tour. In Rock Band 1, they had achievements for playing every gig in each city. That isn't as stringent here. There is a point in time that the World Tour just dies.

The gigs are pretty much pre-set in those. And the fact that you get at most 1 "random" gig per venue (3 per city) doesn't help your view of it. It is meant to be a canned experience with only a little variety.

It's built around the 84 on-disc songs. This is done for consistency in difficulty progression as well as "regional (loosely)" acts.

If you want randomness, go into quickplay and build your own random setlist of up to 100 songs and quit yer bitchin'!

[brianluvdvd]

If you don't need to complete the World Tour, then why the hell is it there in the first place? Bizarre.

And why design it to be a "canned experience with only a little variety?"

I find this completely odd.

So I just need to go back and just play the game under quickplay everytime? There's no reason to do the world tours for the various instruments? I'm confused.

[pinata242]

The game ships and a person buys it. There is only 1 guarantee from the development view: this user has these 84 songs.

The WT mode must be tailored to that. They add some variety by having random gigs that can branch out of that. But for the most part you have single-song gigs and other canned setlists based on difficulty/decade/region. This is the World Tour mode for Rock Band.

Everything could be random, sure, but then not all the songs could be showcased.

They added the Tour Challenges to be a more dynamic experience based on your DLC.

Quickplay is there so you can play whatever you want, whenever you want.

[Kelkee]

If you don't need to complete the World Tour, then why the hell is it there in the first place? Bizarre.

Its the "game" part of the game. You pretend to be a Rock Band, earning money for stuff, and managers and equipment and such.

And why design it to be a "canned experience with only a little variety?"

Its the game aspect again. Beat song, get stuff. Repeat.
The reason you are getting alot of the same songs I suspect is because you are going to each city in order. The cities progress up in difficulty, so you are seeing a bunch of the easier tiered songs again and again because you are playing easy cities.

Until you get the bus and the plane expect a lot of repeats of easier songs. Once you are able to travel across the world then you get less repeats.

So I just need to go back and just play the game under quickplay everytime? There's no reason to do the world tours for the various instruments? I'm confused.

Play world tour for the game aspect of earning money, fans, and unlockables.

Play QP for the love of the music.

[pinata242]

Not that I'm expecting anything other than Maiden to be announced this morning, but I am imagining there's no update yet because sean is exhausted and no one else has picked up the slack yet.

Probably a very smart move to announce 2 weeks worth of content before E3, regardless of awesomeness.

[The Bus]

So how many songs does everyone actually have?

Between RB1, RB2, AC/DC, the 20 free songs, and the DLC, I think I'm at ~240 or so.

[pinata242]

277 owned (http://www.myrockbandsongs.com/pinata242/songs/) and another 74 on my wish list (http://www.myrockbandsongs.com/pinata242/wishlist/).

[Walker Boh]

232 songs owned

[Michael Corvin]

305/706 (http://www.myrockbandsongs.com/Corvin/managesongs/) (43%) / 30 on the Wish List, not including Maiden.

It would be higher, but I couldn't take Fall Out Boy being on there from RB1 so it was permanently removed. I also removed the 3(?) Rush cover tunes when the masters came out.

Looks like it would take 4800pts to buy all the tunes on my Wish List. Might have to break down one day and get a 4000 point card and go for it.

[Imprint]

RB1 + RB2 + ACDC + DLC (never downloaded the free 20) - all cover versions (except the Sabbath pack) = 286 for me.

[jdpatri]

276 for me. Still gotta pick up some Alice Cooper and Coheed/TVotR this week.

[pinata242]

276 for me. Still gotta pick up some Alice Cooper and Coheed/TVotR this week.

If you're not going to buy it when it's offered, I don't want to hear any bitching about the 2-day PSN delay any more.

[Michael Corvin]

If you're not going to buy it when it's offered, I don't want to hear any bitching about the 2-day PSN delay any more.

rotfl

Good news for those of us that share in posting Playlist duties, they just added a group feature so that multiple people can add/edit the same playlist.

[Mad Dawg]

I need a new hobby. 476.

But I'm trying as hard as I can to be more discerning and not go on impulsive Sunday afternoon spending sprees. I've even held off on this week's pack as I try to talk myself down from 6 to 2. Maiden is a no brainer, though.

[Ghym]

315 songs (http://www.myrockbandsongs.com/Ghym/songs/)

I'll be adding 12 more next week. :rock2:

[jdpatri]

For the record, I tried to download Coheed/TVotR yesterday but it wasn't up on PSN yet. After that it was a hockey night. There was no time to bother with Rock Band!

Besides, I've learned to embrace the 2-day wait. It's like an offering to the gods, a pious gesture of faith, a DLC fast to prove my devotion to the almighty Playstation. Yea and so it shall be done.

[Imprint]

Why is there a 2 day delay? Does PSN only update on Thursdays?

[pinata242]

Yes, that's the only reason why.

[pinata242]

Well, here's a full PR, but not from the RB forums (Wii simul-release):

**ROCK BAND MEDIA ALERT**
FLIGHT 666 TOUCHES DOWN JUNE 9 ON ROCK BAND

Iron Maiden master recordings made available as downloadable content for Rock Band for the first time!

Cambridge, MA – June 5, 2009 – As previously announced, Harmonix Music, the leading developer of music-based games, and MTV Games, a part of Viacom’s MTV Networks, (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), along with distribution partner Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), will offer 12 tracks from Iron Maiden, one of the world’s most successful rock bands, June 9 in the Rock Band® Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and the Wii™ system.

The release of these downloadable tracks coincides with the U.S. release of Flight 666 on Blu-ray and DVD as well as a double-CD soundtrack album and limited edition double-vinyl picture disc. Flight 666 documents the first leg of Maiden’s legendary SOMEWHERE BACK IN TIME WORLD TOUR, which took them 50,000 miles around the planet, playing 23 concerts on five continents in just 45 days. One of the stars of the movie is the band’s customized Boeing 757, Ed Force One, which carried the band, all their crew and 12 tons of stage equipment and was piloted by Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson, a fully qualified and active Airline Captain with Astraeus Airlines.

Live recordings of “Aces High,” “Hallowed Be Thy Name,” “Fear of the Dark” and “Iron Maiden,” featured on Flight 666, are among those available for download in the Rock Band Music Store June 9. The other eight songs were among those featured on the band’s Somewhere Back in Time World Tour during the first leg of which Flight 666 was filmed. This will mark the first time master recordings from Iron Maiden have been made available on Rock Band games.

“Fans have been asking us to do something with Rock Band for some time, and this seemed to be a perfect opportunity,” said Maiden manager Rod Smallwood. “Our recent Somewhere Back in Time tour was perhaps the most enjoyable one we have ever undertaken and certainly the most successful with almost 2 million people catching the shows around the world. So it just seemed a good idea to make some of the songs we played available now so fans can play along with the band on the tour. Then we shall see if they can keep up with the band!!”

(All tracks are original master recordings)

Track Album
“Aces High (live)” Flight 666 (2009)
“2 Minutes to Midnight” Powerslave (1984)
“The Trooper” Piece of Mind (1983)
“Wasted Years” Somewhere in Time (1986)
“The Number of the Beast” The Number of the Beast (1982)
“Run to the Hills” The Number of the Beast (1982)
“Can I Play With Madness” Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
“The Clairvoyant” Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
“Powerslave” Powerslave (1984)
“Hallowed Be Thy Name (live)” Flight 666 (2009)
“Fear of the Dark (live)” Flight 666 (2009)
“Iron Maiden (live)” Flight 666 (2009)

The Iron Maiden tracks will be available for purchase as part of the “Iron Maiden Pack” or as individual tracks for Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 system. These tracks will be available for purchase as individual tracks only for Wii.

Release Date: Tuesday, June 9, 2009
(Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360® and in-game Rock Band 2 Music Store for Wii)

Thursday, June 11, 2009
(PlayStation®Store)

** Dates for Rock Band game tracks are tentative and subject to change **

Price: $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points) for Xbox 360 per track
$19.99 (1600 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for “Iron Maiden Pack”
$2.00 (200 Wii Points) per track

[Michael Corvin]

Besides, I've learned to embrace the 2-day wait. It's like an offering to the gods, a pious gesture of faith, a DLC fast to prove my devotion to the almighty Playstation. Yea and so it shall be done.

I literally just spit on my computer monitor. :lol: Thanks for that.

[DaveWadding]

SHIT! of course, I'm 200 points short for buying the pack. DAMMIT.

[jdpatri]

I literally just spit on my computer monitor. :lol: Thanks for that.

I'm just here to spread the faith to the pagan worshippers of the X.

[chess]

Flip! Bringing the funny to the Rock Band thread! :lol:

Truth is that Rock Band releases are the only time I think about the extra two days. The Pearl Jam wait was especially painful.

[jdpatri]

Flip! Bringing the funny to the Rock Band thread! :lol:

Truth is that Rock Band releases are the only time I think about the extra two days. The Pearl Jam wait was especially painful.

I don't think I've really been plagued by the two-day wait, er, I mean period of penance, since The Killers pack. But that is because I have come to realize that lo it will be as our Lord decrees, and is meant to be no sooner than it is. For we are not ready for our Lord's gifts on Tuesday, only Thursday. Yea.

Okay, I think I'm done for now.

...but I wouldn't bet on it.

[Michael Corvin]

I'm just here to spread the faith to the pagan worshippers of the X.

Awesome. I like you, we should get together and play Left 4 Dead sometime.

[jdpatri]

Awesome. I like you, we should get together and play Left 4 Dead sometime.

Lo, but that is a heathen game which shalt not soil my smallish and occasionally ungainly (especially during FPSs) non-rumble sticks. The Lord forbids it.

...okay maybe I'm really done now.

[Mad Dawg]

In case anyone is lurking who hasn't bitten on the game yet, Gamestop has dropped the price on all versions of Rock Band 2 (new) to $39.99. And the bundles are $169.99.

[pinata242]

$30 on the game, but only $20 on the bundle? Weird. You'd think they were trying to free retail space for something.

[Mad Dawg]

$30 on the game, but only $20 on the bundle? Weird. You'd think they were trying to free retail space for something.

My abacus doesn't work as well as it used to, but I think that's a $20 drop on both. :) And $10 on the Wii game-only.

[pinata242]

You're right. In my defense it is Friday afternoon.

[Shagrath]

Mad Dawg's got me beat. I'm at a measly (respectable?) 433 songs total. I'll be +12 next week, for sure.

[rabbit77]

219 for me, and I know there are many I've purchased that I haven't played yet. My approach - check out what's new in the DLC store every 2-3 months and not pay attention, and be pleasantly surprised with what's out there the few times I check in before throwing a party at the house.

[sandman642]

So how many songs does everyone actually have?

Between RB1, RB2, AC/DC, the 20 free songs, and the DLC, I think I'm at ~240 or so.

Right about now I'm REALLY glad that myrockbandsongs doesn't have a $$ column, because I'm sitting at 437 (http://www.myrockbandsongs.com/sandman642/songs/) songs, give or take a few.

[FatTony]

I just hit 100 DLC last night (including the 20 free songs) with "Wolf Like Me." With RB1 and 2, I'm sitting at 239.

[Mok]

302 songs for me, I hate looking at the list. I keep seeing songs I want to purchase, but forgot about.

[GuessWho]

Flight 666 is on VH1 Classic tomorrow night :)

[Mok]

Flight 666 is on VH1 Classic tomorrow night :)

Great news I will set it to record. Somewhere Back in Time Live is on tonight at 9pm.

[dvdsteve2000]

341 songs for me. There's probably 5-10 that I would pick up if I had some extra points laying around, and Maiden will get me to 353.

[cartman]

547 total songs here. Only 408 downloaded, though :(.

[FusionX]

I just download whatever comes out, someone at one of the parties is bound to want to play it. There are a few bands I'd skip, but to this point I've picked up all the songs.

[mdc3000]

according to dlcquickplay (when I select 'songs i have') it shows 273 - so I guess that's how many I've downloaded.

[DaveWadding]

including Maiden, 264.

[clintilona]

Anyone know if RB2 has been patched yet for compatibility with the wireless Lips microphones? I was at Target today and they had the Lips set for the 360 on clearance for $24.98.

[Mad Dawg]

Not yet. The patch is supposed to be coming this summer, but we really don't know when it'll hit.

[Shagrath]

Guess no one uses the FAQ. :(

[clintilona]

Guess no one uses the FAQ. :(

Sorry, Shagrath. It never even occured to me to check the FAQ. I promise I will not neglect the FAQ next time I have a question.

[porieux]

I made a playlist of the songs from the Iron Maiden 12 pack on Last.FM if anyone is interested. There is a bunch of other metal at the end of the playlist, to satisfy Last.FM requirements.

Iron Maiden 12 Pack for Rock Band (http://www.last.fm/user/Porieux/library/playlists/31sf7_iron_maiden_12_pack_for_rock_band_plus_metal)

I think you have to play the songs one by one or it will shuffle between the whole list. Enjoy.

[Michael Corvin]

I don't view track packs as being a stand-alone title like Band Hero or Guitar Hero: Van Halen.

But what of the 50% of people not on Live? They are stand-alone titles to those 10 million(?) people.

[REL77]

Finally back from 2 weeks in Hawaii.... What great news i come home to, Coheed and Cambria DLC is already out, along with some nice Phish, and i get a 12pack of MAIDEN... WOW... Rock On!!!!

[dvdsteve2000]

Finally back from 2 weeks in Hawaii....!!!!

Pics?

[Shagrath]

But what of the 50% of people not on Live? They are stand-alone titles to those 10 million(?) people.
I'll try to address this, although we will never see eye to eye. :)

Even though the track packs are completely playable as separate entities, they are (or were until very recently) made up completely of previously available material. They are also budget priced at $30. Even with the "exclusive" material in the Country Track Pack, Harmonix have already stated that those tracks will be available at a later time as DLC. This is the one of the biggest factors into why I do not view them as "milking" the franchise. They're completely optional, and if you like one or two songs, then you have the option of picking that up as DLC.

On the flipside, Activision put all of their stand-alone discs as just that, stand-alone discs. If I'm only interested in a couple songs on each disc, and I *must* play those songs, I have no option but to plunk down $60 for a full retail disc. I completely understand that GH hasn't been a band-only thing before World Tour, so that could be an issue as to why previous games (3 and Aerosmith) don't have the ability to export. But in a perfect world, they could just allow those songs on guitar/bass or guitar/rhythm, just as you can't play vocals on YYZ or Caprici in Rock Band. Also, Metallica didn't allow exporting (which could be a licensing issue, who knows).

Sure, they've said that GH5 is going to support GH:WT DLC. But what if there's a song I like from Band Hero? I gotta buy that disc as well. It's just not something that I agree with at all. Has Harmonix done everything right? Absolutely not. But I believe that as a developer, they've gone out of their way to give us a good experience, and a game that can be customized to an individual's taste (for the most part).

[Michael Corvin]

I don't disagree with you at all, I'm just saying to millions of people not online, there are just as many Rock Band titles on the shelf as GH.

[Shagrath]

I don't disagree with you at all, I'm just saying to millions of people not online, there are just as many Rock Band titles on the shelf as GH.
If someone isn't online, then they're obviously living in the past (or Amish).

As far as someone not having their console online. I again believe they are foolish. There's so much content available (some of it even free) that it's just ludicrous to think that anyone wouldn't take advantage of that.

I'm sure that there's a good chunk of 360 owners that don't have Live accounts because they don't know the difference between Silver and Gold. They see the cards at Wal-Mart and Best Buy and think that's the only way you can get online. MS can't really reach them very well to explain the difference because they're not on Live.

[pinata242]

I will still hold out for the charts, but I think I may only cherry-pick the Maiden pack tomorrow. I watched some concert on Palladia the other day, it wasn't Flight 666, but a slightly older one. And the songs didn't do much for me.

I think I will get NotB and RttH at least, possibly The Trooper. I may also wait for the Metal Track Pack to see what's included on it in case I get it and want to avoid duplication.

[pinata242]

I've slowly been going back through RB1's World Tour to complete the cities and unlock those achievements. Voxtaring what I can on M/E when I'm unsure of the songs (random), M/M when I have no choice (difficulty), or H/M when I know the song very well.

What a pain in the ass this is. Makes you really appreciate the improvements they made for RB2 with online World Tour.

I just did a mystery setlist that was:
Sex Type Thing (STP) - Nice
Give It To Me (The Cocktail Slippers, RB2 free 20 DLC) - I had never played this song before, didn't even recognize it when it came up, but I managed.
Promised Land (Vesuvius) - This song is so much fun to sing! I love it every time.

I wish there was someone local here that would play through it with me :(

[Mad Dawg]

I will still hold out for the charts, but I think I may only cherry-pick the Maiden pack tomorrow. I watched some concert on Palladia the other day, it wasn't Flight 666, but a slightly older one. And the songs didn't do much for me.

The concert film that was on Palladia these past few days is the Somewhere Back in Time tour that the Flight 666 movie is based on. All four of the live tracks in the pack are the ones you saw.

It's funny, because I'm the opposite. The concert made me 10 times more excited for the live stuff, especially if they incorporate the crowds.

[mrpayroll]

Green Day just announced live on the Kevin & Bean Show in LA 106.7 that they are working on a Rock Band: Green Day.

Chris

[pinata242]

Green Day just announced live on the Kevin & Bean Show in LA 106.7 that they are working on a Rock Band: Green Day.

Chris

OMFG OMFG OMFG OMFG!!! natch

[Mad Dawg]

Green Day just announced live on the Kevin & Bean Show in LA 106.7 that they are working on a Rock Band: Green Day.

Chris

EEEEnteresting. Any other details?

[Ghym]

The concert film that was on Palladia these past few days is the Somewhere Back in Time tour that the Flight 666 movie is based on. All four of the live tracks in the pack are the ones you saw.

It's funny, because I'm the opposite. The concert made me 10 times more excited for the live stuff, especially if they incorporate the crowds.

Me too. I watched it yesterday on Palladia HD and that got me even more excited for tomorrow.

[PopcornTreeCt]

Rock Band Green Day!!

I almost look forward to that more than The Beatles... almost...

[pinata242]

EEEEnteresting. Any other details?

Der_Lex has already locked my thread over at RB.com for more info.

Hopefully a clip of whatever they said will show up soon.

[mrpayroll]

EEEEnteresting. Any other details?

No other details. I know they are going on tour real soon, so I don't expect to see this until next year at the earliest.

Chrsi

[mrpayroll]

Der_Lex has already locked my thread over at RB.com for more info.

Hopefully a clip of whatever they said will show up soon.

Green Day just finished playing a live 'Breakfast with Kevin & Bean' show that should probably be up on www.kroq.com sometime later today.

Chris

[pinata242]

From my RB thread:

Someone posted this a few days ago in one of the Green Day threads in the Ultimate Set List...

I was just at the Breakfast with Green Day private show that KROQ did and my wife asked the band if they would be coming out with any songs for Rock Band and they said "Yes". Billy Jo said there would be a whole Green Day pack of songs and that it would be coming out "sometime this year". It's about freakin' time!
I had a feeling this user wasn't lying~ and he/she says a pack of songs, not a separate game

[pinata242]

Green Day just finished playing a live 'Breakfast with Kevin & Bean' show that should probably be up on www.kroq.com sometime later today.

Chris

Was it live, though? The post above seems to indicate it was pre-recorded.

[Liver&Onions]

i'm listening to the clips on the web right now.

[Mad Dawg]

http://kroq-data.com/kevinandbean/breakfast.asp

Here's the KROQ show.

[pinata242]

i'm listening to the clips on the web right now.

I'm at lunch right now and can't listen. If you find the segment, can you transcribe it?

[mrpayroll]

Was it live, though? The post above seems to indicate it was pre-recorded.

These breakfasts (3rd with Green Day) are usually live with a 10 second delay for language.

I didn't hear the word 'pack'. I got the feeling that it was a complete game. I could be wrong though.

Chris

[Liver&Onions]

I'm at lunch right now and can't listen. If you find the segment, can you transcribe it?

no.

But I will tell you what they say in my own paraphrasing.

[Liver&Onions]

chick - " will you guys ever put songs out, for uhhhhh, like xbox"
GD - "Yea, uhhh - we're doing a whole green day rock band..."
"When is it coming out? "
" Not sure, soon - like this year soon."

7 minutes into part 5.

[pinata242]

:up:

[mrpayroll]

chick - " will you guys ever put songs out, for uhhhhh, like xbox"
GD - "Yea, uhhh - we're doing a whole green day rock band..."
"When is it coming out? "
" Not sure, soon - like this year soon."

7 minutes into part 5.

This is uhhh, why I believe it is a complete game.

Chris

[Mad Dawg]

Since those songs showed up in files on the PSP, my money's on a Track Pack.

[Liver&Onions]

This is uhhh, why I believe it is a complete game.

Chris

but i put in the quote :)

[mrpayroll]

but i put in the quote :)

I know and it was vindication for my 'senior' memory! :D

Chris

[Imprint]

Another huge score for RB.

[pinata242]

What's interesting (and why I thought this was near-impossible) is that Green Day is on Reprise Records, a subsidiary of WMG. So either these songs have been licensed for a long time per what we've heard before or not every WMG label is off limits or some special deal was struck for this.

My Chemical Romance is also on Reprise and I'd still love to get some of them in RB.

[Mad Dawg]

Good point. Also on Reprise:

http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/7844/claptong.jpg

-pray-

[Mad Dawg]

Kotaku's picked up the GD story, but of course nothing more than what we've heard.

http://kotaku.com/5283206/green-day-coming-to-rock-band

[FatTony]

There's this bit from the Kotaku story:

I'm not sure...soon. Like I think not this week, but this year soon...by the end of this year.

The bolded part, if it's actually quoted word-for-word, leads me to believe we're looking at a track pack and not a stand-alone game. Also, if there were a full game in the works, I'd think we would have heard something about it by now.

At any rate...GREEN DAY IN ROCK BAND!!! :rock2:

[Michael Corvin]

I agree FatTony. They aren't just going to drop a game on the public, it definitely sounds like a track pack do any day now.

[pinata242]

For reference, here's the list of Green Day songs found in the RB:U meta-info:

Green Day - "American Idiot"
Green Day - "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"
Green Day - "Brain Stew"
Green Day - "Hitchin' A Ride"
Green Day - "Holiday"
Green Day - "Jaded"
Green Day - "Letterbomb"
Green Day - "Longview"
Green Day - "Minority"
Green Day - "Nice Guys Finish Last"
Green Day - "She"
Green Day - "She's A Rebel"
Green Day - "St. Jimmy"
Green Day - "Walking Contradiction"
Green Day - "Welcome To Paradise"
Green Day - "Whatsername"
Green Day - "When I Come Around"

17 songs pushes the limit of DLC packs we've seen before. If these (like No Doubt) comes in at $20, it would be a steal. I expect a retail disc in the $30-$40 range, ala AC/DC. I don't see a full fledged experience like GH:M with motion-capture and digitized "androids" and such.

[REL77]

GO GREEN DAY... They have been a glaring absence in all Music Games for modern Rockers... They need to get part of the Foo Fighters treatment that RB has shown... Bring On GREEN DAY!

[Liver&Onions]

i can't believe you guys would trust them more than me :(

[REL77]

for reference, here's the list of green day songs found in the rb:u meta-info:



17 songs pushes the limit of dlc packs we've seen before. If these (like no doubt) comes in at $20, it would be a steal. .

ftw!!!!!!!!!!!!

[GoVegan]

I wouldn't trust them. I think a lot of times the artists are fed bs just to get them to agree. Like when they ask if it's downloadable songs or a full game, they're told "We're talking a product in the store - increased brand recognition. People will be able to walk into the store and impulse-buy something with Green Day written on it."

[pinata242]

Actually, had to check my numbers.

RHCP - BSSM = 16 tracks ($20)
Pixies - Doolittle = 14 tracks ($19)
No Doubt - Singles = 13 tracks ($20)
Foo - TCaS = 12 tracks ($20)

[PopcornTreeCt]

I think Rock Band needs more Doors.

[porieux]

Green Day just announced live on the Kevin & Bean Show in LA 106.7 that they are working on a Rock Band: Green Day.

Chris


No way could GD support a whole game. A track pack is much more likely IMO.

[Adam Tyner]

No way could GD support a whole game.Considering how few Van Halen songs are on their Guitar Hero game, I guess it's really not that inconceivable, and they'd probably skew more towards the demo for this sort of game too.

[Shagrath]

Considering how few Van Halen songs are on their Guitar Hero game, I guess it's really not that inconceivable, and they'd probably skew more towards the demo for this sort of game too.
If we look at Rock Band's band-specific releases (AC/DC and Beatles, with Pearl Jam next year), we see that only the featured artist is in the game. GH are the ones who sell an artist-specific title, and only half the songs on the disc are by that artist.

I agree with porieux, and Green Day will either be a straight-up DLC offering, or an AC/DC style track pack.

[redbill]

Considering how few Van Halen songs are on their Guitar Hero game, I guess it's really not that inconceivable, and they'd probably skew more towards the demo for this sort of game too.

Did you mean Aerosmith, or did I miss the GH:VH song list?

[Mad Dawg]

Did you mean Aerosmith, or did I miss the GH:VH song list?

I don't think there's a list out, but the trailer at E3 says 25 songs from VH, and I think 3 EVH solos (Eruption and a couple of others). Then an additional 19 from other groups.

[Mok]

I can't wait till tomorrow, btw did Npeaen find a new home ?

[pinata242]

I can't wait till tomorrow, btw did Npeaen find a new home ?

Nalopean ;)

[Mok]

Nalopean ;)

gotcha ;)

[Shagrath]

I'll have the DLC post updated early (probably as soon as the vids are uploaded). There'll also be a Marketplace link so you can spend your points easily.

[pinata242]

I tried hard to like Iron Maiden, I did. I can understand how these are fun songs to listen to but, for me, I don't see myself ever wanting to play them in a game.

I might, one day, get Number of the Beast just because I like it. But the rest, including RttH, are not for me.

[REL77]

Yeah, after watching a few of them, i miught not get the entire pack.. Think i might get 5 songs... Hallowed be thy name is top on that list, that song rules

[Mad Dawg]

I'm 6 songs in to the Maiden pack and have to stop for work. So far, it's pretty much as expected. Awesome. Overall, it's about 2 steps past my skill level. Between gallops, trilly things, and blisteringly fast solos, it's like this was custom made for my weakest points to kick my ass. But, really, it's not frustratingly hard, and it's pretty incredible.

[Kelkee]

I might, one day, get Number of the Beast just because I like it. But the rest, including RttH, are not for me.

You don't like the other songs or the charts?

[pinata242]

I haven't actually seen the guitar charts yet, just the bass. I didn't like the songs well enough to sit there for 6-8 minutes on each one. They were just not my taste.

I would have no problem listening to the music in the background while working or something, but they aren't what I'm going to choose to play.

[flashburn]

I glanced over about 6-8 videos for Drums, and they all looked fun as hell. I can't wait to play them.

[Shagrath]

DLC post is updated with full charts for now. I'll update it with guitar only and drum only charts when I find them.

[flashburn]

KuroShinnen has up all the solo Drums charts.

[GoVegan]

WARNING: No Iron Maiden Content in Post!

Does anyone have any ideas for preventing the drum pedal from slipping around on hardwood floors? I have the Rock Pedal and love how quiet it is, but my spastic lack of skills still causes it to move somewhere between a few inches and a few feet during a song. It has several rubber feet, but those don't seem to make too much of a difference.

[Shagrath]

I don't have wood floors yet. But I will be getting them when Obama gets around to giving me my $8K soon.

I've heard that getting one of those plastic mats (made for office chairs) does the trick, and that's probably what I'll end up doing as well.

[flashburn]

Industrial Strength Velcro! Problem solved.

[Shagrath]

Industrial Strength Velcro! Problem solved.
At that point, why not just glue the pedal to the floor?

OR NAIL IT TO THE FLOOR!

[flashburn]

At that point, why not just glue the pedal to the floor?

OR NAIL IT TO THE FLOOR!

Hell yeah that works too, but at least with Velcro you can remove the pedal (but not the other side of the velcro). I'll be sure to do that with your pedal once you get those woods floors. :)

[Shagrath]

Hell yeah that works too, but at least with Velcro you can remove the pedal (but not the other side of the velcro). I'll be sure to do that with your pedal once you get those woods floors. :)
I don't think my wife would approve.. Hah!

If I was a bachelor though.. Hoo boy!

[GoVegan]

Why not just install the pedal into the floor? Also, hardwood floors would probably make a great base for a stage.

Thanks for the mat idea. Come to think of it, I think I have a spare doormat which is rubber on the bottom and carpeted on top. I'll give that a try.

[flashburn]

In fact, just build the entire drumset into the floor. Or, build a raised stage out of the same floors and have everything raise out of the floor!

[pinata242]

I put pedal on my throne and sit on it. Just a simple bounce works.

[devilshalo]

http://www.drumat.com/

[flashburn]

http://www.drumat.com/

http://www.samash.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_Drumat%204x6_-1_10052_10002_-49992623
$50? Screw that, build the stage.

[pinata242]

Re-posting here because this will undoubtedly affect next week's DLC offerings. Let's hope it doesn't end up like Locksley-Gate '08.

http://majornelson.com/archive/2009/06/25/xbox-live-service-maintenance-june-16-2009.aspx

On Tuesday, June 16th from 7:01AM UTC (12:01 AM PST) for up to 24 hours, Xbox Live will be offline for maintenance. As a result, Xbox LIVE and the ‘My Xbox’ section of Xbox.com will be unavailable, and the Xbox forums will be in read only mode (you won’t be able to post.)

The remainder of Xbox.com will be available with limited interruptions.

This service maintenance is to prepare for some of the recently announced features that will be available later this year.

Let me reiterate: When the service returns, you will not have any new functions or features. This is for scheduled maintenance only.

[REL77]

Re-posting here because this will undoubtedly affect next week's DLC offerings. Let's hope it doesn't end up like Locksley-Gate '08.

http://majornelson.com/archive/2009/06/25/xbox-live-service-maintenance-june-16-2009.aspx

That stinks... I want my DLC 2 full days before PS3 users damit :)

[Michael Corvin]

I thought the drum pedal fit over the base of the drums to keep it from sliding?

At any rate, put a 5-10lb weight in front of it if you have one laying around.

[REL77]

ok, after watching all the vids twice, i decided this is what i am getting from the Maiden Pack:

Hallowed be thy name
Wasted Years
2 minutes to midnight
Can i play with Madness
Fear of the Dark

I might cave and get Run to the Hills, but i dont know. I would probably get The Trooper, but am not sure I can pass it.

[Kijdhefgi]

BREAKING KIJ NEWS

Iron Maiden takes the "Best DLC" spot from REOStyx and pushes Yngwie down to number three! Hallowed Be Thy Name is as amazing as I thought it would be. The Trooper is trilltastic! The song Iron Maiden gives way to 38k single instrument BRE scores! I can't wait to try these out on drums and vocals. Scream for me DVDTalk! SCREAM FOR ME DVDTALK! ::solo::

[devilshalo]

I thought the drum pedal fit over the base of the drums to keep it from sliding?
The Rock Pedal is stand alone and has no connection to the stand. However, I suggest creating a bracket for it that will fit over the drum base.

[Imprint]

Just bought points at Amazon and queued up the Maiden pack. Can't wait to get home from work!

[Mad Dawg]

Jesus, that pack is a workout on guitar. After getting a chance to play the whole pack I was able to get 5 stars on three of the tracks, 3 on The Trooper (how can such an incredible song be so mean?), and 4 on the rest. I failed out on only one song, because I found out that not every Number of the Beast is created equally. This is definitely like SRV for me...way over my head as a whole, but really a friggin blast.

[jdpatri]

Re-posting here because this will undoubtedly affect next week's DLC offerings. Let's hope it doesn't end up like Locksley-Gate '08.

http://majornelson.com/archive/2009/06/25/xbox-live-service-maintenance-june-16-2009.aspx


Aahahahhahaaa!! Victory is ours.

Locksley Day 09 is upon us.

[porieux]

Loving the Iron Maiden pack, especially Powerslave and 2 Minutes to Midnight.

[Ghym]

The Iron Maiden pack is awesome! I played through all 12 songs yesterday on expert guitar, bass, and vocals. Had a lot of fun. All of the songs rock.

Today I tried expert drums. :lol: I only passed about 3 songs, but that's the most fun I've had failing in a while.

[pinata242]

GREEN DAY July 7th!!!!!

3 from 21st Century Breakdown, but I'll fucking take it!

http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=145468

MTV GAMES, HARMONIX AND WARNER BROS. / REPRISE RECORDS PARTNER WITH GREEN DAY TO BRING THEIR MUSIC EXCLUSIVELY TO ROCK BAND®

First Green Day DLC Three Pack To Include 21 Guns, Know Your Enemy, East Jesus Nowhere From 21st Century Breakdown on July 7th


New York, NY – June 11, 2009 - MTV Games’ Harmonix Music Systems, a part of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), the leading developer of music-based games, announced an extraordinary partnership with Warner Bros. Records and Green Day today to bring the music of multi-platinum, Grammy® Award winning Green Day, exclusively to Rock Band ®. Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool are the latest artists to bring songs from their impressive catalogue of hits to MTV’s genre defining, multi-million selling Rock Band® music video game platform that allows music fans and gamers to interact with and discover music like never before by choosing guitar, drums, vocals, or bass to start a band and rock the world.

The first selection of Green Day songs to arrive on Rock Band as downloadable content will be a three-pack of songs from their latest release, 21st Century Breakdown on July 7th including: 21 Guns, Know Your Enemy, East Jesus Nowhere. Additional Green Day songs and projects will be announced at a later date.

“Green Day not only rock hard, but are also epic storytellers,” said Van Toffler, President, MTV Networks, Music, LOGO and Film. “Their message and their music have been the voice and sound of this generation. The addition of Green Day is a huge victory for MTV and our audience, and marks another landmark in our efforts to bring the best artists to Rock Band.”

"We are excited to be working with MTV and Harmonix,” said Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong. “They are leaders and visionaries in the world of music and video games, and Rock Band is a really cool way for fans of all ages to experience our music.”

"Green Day's epic music and incredible live performances put them in a class by themselves. Bringing Green Day and Rock Band together unites two extremely powerful forces to create a great music game experience for their fans," said Tom Whalley, Chairman/CEO, Warner Bros. Records. "This unique deal with MTV creates a true partnership with Green Day, Reprise and Harmonix as we embark upon the next great era of Green Day."
“It’s awesome that one of greatest bands on earth is coming to the Rock Band platform,” said Paul DeGooyer, SVP, Electronic Games and Music, MTV. “Green Day is a longtime favorite of the Harmonix team, and we’re very excited to provide a new way for their fans to connect with them, while at the same time helping put this incredible music in front of a whole new audience.”

Selling nearly 50 million records worldwide, Green Day has won critical acclaim and numerous accolades including three Grammy® Awards for Best Alternative Album for Dookie, Best Rock Album for American Idiot, and Record of the Year for their smash hit "Boulevard of Broken Dreams". Green Day recently released their eighth studio album, 21st Century Breakdown, on Warner Music Group’s Reprise Records. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, as well as on the Rock, Active Rock, and Alternative charts, fueled by the Alternative radio No. 1 single “Know Your Enemy.” 21st Century Breakdown, which Rolling Stone has called “a rock opera in which the rock always comes first,” is also a hit around the world topping the charts in 24 countries including the UK, Canada, and Japan.

Green Day - vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tré Cool - were three kids from working-class backgrounds who came of age in the underground punk scene in Berkeley, California. Even though they had released two records prior (1039 / Smooth Out Slappy Hours and Kerplunk), they announced their arrival with 1994's Dookie, a blast of punk-pop that spoke to bored teenagers everywhere. The album eventually sold 15 million copies worldwide, earned the band their first Grammy Award and inspired a raft of imitators. Over the years, Green Day continued to top the charts with their subsequent studio albums Insomniac, Nimrod, and Warning while entertaining millions of fans with their frenetic live shows. But it was their landmark 2004 album American Idiot that launched Green Day into the stratosphere. An artistic leap forward, American Idiot is a punk rock opera and sarcastic middle-finger salute to the Administration that captured the cultural and political landscape at that time. "Jesus of Suburbia" set the tone by telling a tale of choosing between self-destruction and redemption that resonated with listeners of all ages, nationalities, and political persuasions. American Idiot debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart and went on to sell more than five million copies in the U.S. and 12 million worldwide. It spawned five hit singles, earned seven Grammy nominations (winning two including Rock Album of the Year) and raised the bar for modern rock and roll.

Originally launched on November 20, 2007, Rock Band is the ground-breaking, billion dollar selling franchise and music video game leader in paid song sales (over 45 million paid individual songs) and downloadable content with more than 700 tracks available to date via disc and download purchase (complete list of tracks at www.rockband.com/music). Rock Band and Rock Band 2 are available for Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 system, PlayStation 2 system and Wii.

For more information on Green Day, please visit www.greenday.com and www.warnerbrosrecords.com.

For more information on Rock Band and Rock Band 2, please visit www.rockband.com.

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[UncleGramps]

Woot!

Also, this appears to indicate some mending of fences with Warner. That's good news too.

[pinata242]

Woot!

Also, this appears to indicate some mending of fences with Warner. That's good news too.

I skipped right over the "exclusive" part to find the songs to bold. That's fantastic news and hopefully it is a label-wide change of heart.

[REL77]

Wow.... would rather have an old song mixed in there with the new stuff, but i will take what I can get... More Green Day = More Gooder :)

Bring on the greatest hits material

[devilshalo]

Today I tried expert drums. :lol: I only passed about 3 songs, but that's the most fun I've had failing in a while.
Usually takes me a couple of RUSH's songs to work up a sweat. But goddamn if just playing thru Wasted Years didn't have me dripping. :whofart:

[UncleGramps]

Yeah, the Maiden tracks are the perfect balance between challenge and fun for Expert drummers. They are tough but not frustrating. Well, the ones with devil head ratings for drums (RttH, Powerslave, Iron Maiden, and one other that escapes me at the moment) gave me a tough time (still haven't passed any of 'em), but I was able to get through the rest on my first attempt. An excellent pack on drums and vocals (the only two parts I really play on a regular basis).

[Michael Corvin]

I'm not a Green Day fan but I'm happy for you guys.

[Suprmallet]

Iron Maiden is SO MUCH FUN! Did them all on guitar the other day, now have to go back and hit the bass and vocals.

Can't wait for Green Day, either.

[FatTony]

I really don't like 21st Century Breakdown so I find this announcement sorely disappointing, but the blurb that there's more Green Day songs on the way fills me with glee.

[Hokeyboy]

Big :thumbsup: for Green Day. I dig the new songs being offered as DLC and look forward to some of the classic tunes as well. Or heck, just release "American Idiot" and "Dookie" as album packs, considering those are their biggest commercial releases.

Re IRON MAIDEN: Wow. Too much fun. Now bring on "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" in all its 14 minute glory. My only complaint was leaving out the heartbeat, animal cries, and evil laughter that opens "Powerslave".... and even that's a minor nitpick. Hearing Churchill's speech at the beginning of "Aces High" made up for that and then some.

Groin, and why for teh canoe

[jdpatri]

I really don't like 21st Century Breakdown so I find this announcement sorely disappointing, but the blurb that there's more Green Day songs on the way fills me with glee.

I'm pretty disappointed as well. I won't be picking these up, but they can have my money just as soon as they release pretty much any other Green Day stuff.

[porieux]

Do the disappointed GD fans just not like those songs in particular or do you not like the new album at all?

[dvdsteve2000]

I don't think I'm a Green day fan, but maybe after hearing some stuff some will sound pleasingly familiar. I was bummin' when The Offspring songs hit, but after hearing them I realized I liked them all, and "Gone Away" is one of my favorite songs on RB. I'm hoping I feel the same way about Green Day.

[jdpatri]

Do the disappointed GD fans just not like those songs in particular or do you not like the new album at all?

I'm underwhelmed by the new album. It's fine, and maybe I haven't given it enough of a chance, but it just feels like they took what made American Idiot interesting and replaced it with the bland/palatable parts from that album.

My impression is that it's twelve steps closer to muzak than Dookie. There are some interesting moments, but they're not enough to sustain the album. I don't doubt that the songs will probably be fun to play for parties, but on their own... meh. Especially when the album tries for full-length rock-opera cohesion.

[FatTony]

Do the disappointed GD fans just not like those songs in particular or do you not like the new album at all?

I absolutely hate the new album. It's boring. Though in particular, "21 Guns" is the worst song Green Day has ever put out. Just awful in every way.

[mdc3000]

I'm looking forward to the Green Day (any I can get) and think that East Jesus Nowhere is a kickass song and will be really damn fun to play.

[pinata242]

Sorry for the tease bump at this time, but hmxsean tweeted that he'll be in late today and that there's no electricity at the office. Not sure what that means for the announcement schedule. Just FYI.

[Shagrath]

The power's already back on.. They must've got the powerslave to help 'em out.

[pinata242]

*groan*

[REL77]

This is what was posted in the Spec Thread on RB Forums since they lost power... Looks legit, but still waiting for the 100% official post form HMX themselves.

Cambridge, Mass. – June 12, 2009 - Harmonix and MTV Games today announced that a four pack of tracks from icon rock stars Spinal Tap, along with a three pack from Evanescence, will be added to the Rock Band® Music Store of downloadable content next week for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.

Three of the four Spinal Tap tracks (“Back from the Dead,” Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare” and “Warmer Than Hell”) come from the band’s new album Back From The Dead (The Label Industry Records/A2M) also being released on June 16. The fourth track in the new Rock Band package will be “Saucy Jack,” a song St. Hubbins wrote about the life of Jack the Ripper, which was previously only available on the band’s website. Back From The Dead features new versions of the band’s classic hits and six newly recorded songs plus an hour-long DVD. The DVD is a track-by-track video commentary by members David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls.
“Tap has always gone where the audience is,” said Smalls. “We hope this time the audience reciprocates. Whatever that means.”

Best known as “England’s Loudest Heavy Metal Band," Spinal Tap was forever immortalized in the 1984 classic film “This Is Spinal Tap,” which the group immediately labeled a “hatchet job” and “character assassination.” Since that time, the film has been added to The Library of Congress' National Film Registry’s list of 25 American cinematic works selected for historical preservation - called a ‘culturally significant’ work. Besides their new album, Spinal Tap will be reuniting for their ‘One Night Only World Tour’ when they play London’s Wembley Arena on June 30.

Grammy Award-winning rockers Evanescence also make their Rock Band debut next week with a three pack of the band’s greatest hits. “Bring Me to Life,” from the band’s 2004 multi-platinum debut album, Fallen, “Call Me When You’re Sober” and “Weight of the World,” from 2006’s The Open Door, will all be available in the Rock Band Music Store beginning June 16.

Tracks:
Evanescence “Bring Me to Life”
Evanescence “Call Me When You’re Sober”
Evanescence “Weight of the World”
Spinal Tap “Back from the Dead”
Spinal Tap “Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare”
Spinal Tap “Saucy Jack”
Spinal Tap “Warmer Than Hell”

(All tracks are original master recordings)

These tracks will be available for purchase as part of the “Spinal Tap Pack” and the “Evanescence Pack” or as individual tracks for Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 systems.
Price: $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) per track
$5.49 (440 Microsoft Points) for "Evanescence Pack"
$6.99(560 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for “Spinal Tap Pack”

[pinata242]

Holy fucking shit! Evanescence AND Spinal Tap!

[Shagrath]

I'm still on my Maiden high, but I'll probably be getting a couple of these.

[REL77]

I think i am the only person to never have seen the movie Spinal Tap... I guess I really need to watch that, but I am all over the Evanescence pack (and not afraid to admit it)....

[pinata242]

These 4 Spinal Tap tracks aren't from the movie, though. Jury's out on them, but I'll buy if it means we can "tap" into their well.

[Mad Dawg]

These 4 Spinal Tap tracks aren't from the movie, though. Jury's out on them, but I'll buy if it means we can "tap" into their well.

Woo! Spinal Tap of any flavor is welcome. It is weird, though, since their new CD actually has re-records of some of the classics.

[Michael Corvin]

I think i am the only person to never have seen the movie Spinal Tap... I guess I really need to watch that, but I am all over the Evanescence pack (and not afraid to admit it)....

You aren't the only one, and I'll be in for the whole Evanescence pack as well. :up:

oh, and not afraid to admit what? What's wrong with Evanescence?

*edit - are Evanescence on Warner?

[pinata242]

Nothing's wrong with Evanescence. I've been wanting it forever as well, especially since that "Ladies of Metal" pack.

[superfro]

And here I was worried about the Live outage next Tuesday and there being tracks I was dying for. Looks like I'm safe. :)

[Michael Corvin]

Evanescence “Weight of the World” is a weak choice. There are so many better songs they could have chosen.